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Electrical current for household, office and industrial use is often delivered via electrical wiring to a receptacle. The electrical current can be delivered in turn to an electrical loaded by inserting an electrical plug connected to the load into the electrical receptacle. The plug has current-carrying prongs that, when inserted into corresponding holes in the receptacle, make electrical contact with internal electrical terminals.
Receptacles may be wall-mounted, or attached to the end of an extension cord or to the end of a string of holiday lights in order to provide a way to deliver electrical current to the next string of lights or another electrical load.
In older homes the wall receptacles are not made with regard to the polarity of the electrical current; that is, they are not physically arranged to receive plugs in only one orientation so that the polarity of the electrical current is maintained when transferred from the receptacle to the plug of an extension cord, and, thence, to the load. In newer homes in the United States, wall receptacles have one hole that is larger than the other to receive the neutral prong of the plug and another that is smaller for the line prong of the plug.
In some household electrical applications, fuses are used to limit the current of the load, particularly in holiday light strings. However, there remains a need for better and safer receptacles.
The present invention is a multi-fusable receptacle; that is, it is a receptacle that can receive different fuses that can be safely replaced or exchanged by the user as required.
The present receptacle includes various features that enhance safety. For example, the receptacle has a fuse for both line and neutral leads to protect a user when the receptacle is connected to an electrical source where the polarity of the electrical current is unknown. The construction of the present receptacle also reveals a number of safety features. When the two sides of the receptacle are separated, power can no longer flow through the receptacle. In another example, the design of the present receptacle and the way in which it is connected to the power lines helps to prevent a live wire from being pulled from the receptacle. Also, the AC terminals are deeply recessed in narrow channels so that, if the receptacle is opened to replace a fuse, contact with a live electrical conductor by the user is precluded.
The fuse holder is designed to accommodate two different fuse sizes so that the present receptacle can be used in different applications without modification. Furthermore, the overall length of the fuse holder with the fuse remains the same regardless of the type of fuse so no internal adjustment is required to accommodate shorter fuses.
These and other features and their advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art of electrical appliance design from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments, accompanied by the following Drawings.